diff --git a/src/bitcoind.cpp b/src/bitcoind.cpp
--- a/src/bitcoind.cpp
+++ b/src/bitcoind.cpp
@@ -118,6 +118,11 @@
             return false;
         }
 
+        // Make sure we create the net-specific data directory early on: if it
+        // is new, this has a side effect of also creating
+        // <datadir>/<net>/wallets/.
+        GetDataDir(true);
+
         // Error out when loose non-argument tokens are encountered on command
         // line
         for (int i = 1; i < argc; i++) {